Saman Ahsan

Executive Director, Girls Action Foundation

Executive Director of Girls Action Foundation, a national non-profit that has been advancing girls’ empowerment since 1995. Ms Ahsan has worked passionately for girls’ empowerment in her native Pakistan and her adopted Canada.

While it's always good practice to stop and celebrate our achievements and accomplishments, we still have a long way to go to truly empower girls. The non-profit organization, Girls' Inc. coined the term "supergirl dilemma" in a 2006 report to describe the pressure on girls to be everything to everyone, all the time.

According to Statistics Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Information, rural and northern girls are more likely to smoke and drink, have higher rates of suicide, and have poorer mental health made worse by the remoteness of their location. These factors could explain why the mortality rate for rural girls is double the rate for those in urban areas.

As Canadian girls grow up, they're told time and again that they can be whoever they want to be. The reality is far less ideal. Despite having more educational opportunities than ever, many girls are still confronted with violence and low self-esteem - sometimes with grave consequences.